Marina Sirtis (born March 29, 1955) is an Englishactress who is most noted for playing the half-human/half-Betazoid Counselor/Commander Deanna Troi, who provided much of the sex appeal of the television and film series Star Trek: The Next Generation.

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Early years

Sirtis was born in London, England, and is a naturalized U.S. citizen of Greek descent. She has been married to Michael Lamper since June 21, 1992.[1] Her younger brother, Steve, plays football (soccer) in Greece[1] and played for Columbia University in the early 1980s. She auditioned for drama school against her parents' wishes, ultimately being accepted to the Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

Career

Sirtis started her career as a member of the repertory company at the Connaught Theatre, Worthing, West Sussex in 1976. Directed by Nic Young, she appeared in Joe Orton's What The Butler Saw and as Ophelia in Hamlet[2].

Before her role in Star Trek, Sirtis had provocative, sexually-themed roles in several movies. In the Faye Dunaway film The Wicked Lady, she engaged in a topless whip fight with Dunaway. In the Charles Bronson sequel Death Wish 3, Sirtis's character is brutally raped by street thugs. In the film Blind Date, she appeared as a prostitute who is murdered by a madman. Sirtis appeared nude extensively in all three films. As a result, when she later achieved fame through Star Trek: The Next Generation, her earlier movies generated considerable nude stills traffic/internet buzz among Star Trek's predominantly young, male fan base.

She did have an established CV of British television work, appearing in Minder, Raffles, and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes among other things. She played the stewardess in the famous Cinzano Bianco television commercial staring Leonard Rossiter and Joan Collins, in which Collins was splattered with drink.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Sirtis as Deanna Troi

Gene Roddenberry was inspired to ask the exotic-looking Sirtis to audition for a role after seeing the film Aliens with Bob Justman, which featured the prominent Latina character Vasquez, played by Jenette Goldstein.[3] Sirtis and Denise Crosby initially tried out for the other's eventual role on The Next Generation. Sirtis's character was going to be named Lt. Macha Hernandez, the Security Chief. Gene Roddenberry decided to switch them, and Macha Hernandez became Natasha Yar. Sirtis recalls that on the day she received a call offering her the role of Deanna Troi, she was actually packing to return to England, because her six-month visa had ended.

Sirtis appeared in all seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and her character was developed from a more passive therapist to tougher Starfleet officer, much to Sirtis's approval. Fortunately, throughout the series, Troi remained a strong female character.

During her time on the show, she became close friends with her co-stars Jonathan Frakes (who played her on-again/off-again lover Commander Riker), Michael Dorn, and Brent Spiner. In fact, cast members Spiner and Dorn were groomsmen at her wedding.

Sirtis has also reprised her character of Deanna Troi in Star Trek: Voyager on several occasions, and in all of the Next Generation feature films, and also in the series finale of Star Trek: Enterprise. She is one of only six actors to play the same character on three different Star Trek series.

She usually wore hair-pieces for her role as Deanna Troi in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Sirtis's real hair was slightly shorter, and although curly, was not as bouffant as her character's. However, Sirtis's real hair was used in the pilot episode, and also in the first six episodes of season six, in which Troi sported a more natural looking pony-tailed style. She also created an accent (described as a mixture of Eastern European and Hebrew) for her character, although her natural accent is English.

Other work

After the end of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1994, Sirtis continued to work regularly. She gained experience as a voice actress from the 1994 Disney animated television series Gargoyles, where she provided her voice for the antagonistic character Demona.

She appeared in other genre television shows such as Stargate SG-1 playing the Russian Dr. Svetlana Markov and as Sister Margaret in Earth: Final Conflict, as well as independent movies including Paradise Lost. In 1998, she had a guest role in an episode of the Dick Van Dyke CBS series Diagnosis: Murder. In 2001, she made a highly publicized guest appearance on the BBC hospital drama series Casualty.

Sirtis has expanded her career branching out into production, most recently producing The Deep Below.

Although Sirtis sported natural breasts throughout most of her career, she received breast implants when she reached her forties. She did this because her breasts were sagging, but she now regrets the decision to receive implants. When asked why she doesn't have the implants removed, Sirtis replied that she feels that women are constantly pressured in society to "fix" everything and that she is willing to live with the admittedly poor decision she made. Although she received implants in order to improver her breasts' shape and lift, her breasts are larger now than they were naturally.

Sirtis continues to work and is still recognizable on U.S. television and in films. Recent appearances include a controversial appearance in The Closer, a recurring comedy role as Gina Richards in Girlfriends, and a guest starring role in Without a Trace as Alexa Soros. In 2004, Sirtis had a minor role in the Academy Award winning ensemble movie Crash as the wife of an Iranian shopkeeper. For this role, she did not need to audition and was given the part immediately. In 2007, she appeared as The Queen in the movie Grendel. She has several films in production including Oranges and Trade Routes. She also has done voice work, as the character Matriarch Benezia for the Xbox 360 RPG Mass Effect, and reading for the abridged audio version of Powers That Be, by Anne McCafferey and Elizabeth Anne Scarborough.